Chiropractor treats horses, dogs, people

Jackie Doval, chiropractor to animals and humans,works on the back leg of a nearly 30-year-old horse named Tara at the home of one of her clients in College Station.

Jackie Doval, chiropractor to animals and humans,works on the back leg of a nearly 30-year-old horse named Tara at the home of one of her clients in College Station.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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Dr. Jackie Doval, an animal chiropractor, works on 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie in College Station. Sadie suffers from arthritis. Her owner, Deborah Rogers, says chiropractic treatment has improved Sadie's life. less

Dr. Jackie Doval, an animal chiropractor, works on 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie in College Station. Sadie suffers from arthritis. Her owner, Deborah Rogers, says chiropractic treatment has improved Sadie's ... more

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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Jackie Doval works on a horse named Tara in College Station. Tara's owner called Doval when the almost 30-year-old horse couldn't get up from her stall.

Jackie Doval works on a horse named Tara in College Station. Tara's owner called Doval when the almost 30-year-old horse couldn't get up from her stall.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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Jackie Doval, an animal chiropractor, watches 29-year-old Tara walk in order to examine the horse's gait.

Jackie Doval, an animal chiropractor, watches 29-year-old Tara walk in order to examine the horse's gait.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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Doval, left, works on a 12-year-old Doberman Pinscher named Ollie with the aid of her owner, Gretchen Jones.

Doval, left, works on a 12-year-old Doberman Pinscher named Ollie with the aid of her owner, Gretchen Jones.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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A 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie gets an adjustment from Jackie Doval. Sadie has been arthritic all her life, says her owner, Deborah Rogers. The Lab has been seeing Doval regularly since June.

A 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie gets an adjustment from Jackie Doval. Sadie has been arthritic all her life, says her owner, Deborah Rogers. The Lab has been seeing Doval regularly since June.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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A 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie gets an adjustment from Jackie Doval. Sadie has been arthritic all her life, says her owner, Deborah Rogers. The Lab has been seeing Doval regularly since June.

A 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie gets an adjustment from Jackie Doval. Sadie has been arthritic all her life, says her owner, Deborah Rogers. The Lab has been seeing Doval regularly since June.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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A 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie gets an adjustment from Jackie Doval. Sadie has been arthritic all her life, says her owner, Deborah Rogers. The Lab has been seeing Doval regularly since June.

A 14-year-old Labrador named Sadie gets an adjustment from Jackie Doval. Sadie has been arthritic all her life, says her owner, Deborah Rogers. The Lab has been seeing Doval regularly since June.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

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Chiropractor Jackie Doval prods at the vertebrae of Sadie, a 14-year-old Labrador.

Chiropractor Jackie Doval prods at the vertebrae of Sadie, a 14-year-old Labrador.

Dr. Jackie Doval, an animal chiropractor and veterinarian, works on 14-year-old Labrador named Sadi at the home of one of her clients Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, in College Station. Sadi, suffers from arthritis and since seeing Dr. Doval, Sadi's owner, Deborah Rogers said she has seen improvements in Sadi's quality of life. ( Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle ) less

Dr. Jackie Doval, an animal chiropractor and veterinarian, works on 14-year-old Labrador named Sadi at the home of one of her clients Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, in College Station. Sadi, suffers from arthritis ... more

Lifestyle

But she'd already spent a lot of time and money, and frankly, she was out of better ideas. So Jones made an appointment with Jackie Doval, a chiropractor well known in the show dog circuit.

After seeing Ollie's limp, Doval identified the problem: The dog's shoulders were out of alignment. She made a quick chiropractic adjustment, and Ollie's limp disappeared.

That was seven years ago, and Ollie - now 12 - has had regular chiropractic appointments since. Other members of the household have seen Doval, too, including two more Dobermans, a border collie and Jones' husband.

"I adjust full body, head to toe," Doval said. That goes for people and animals, although 80 percent of her clients are the four-legged kind. Dogs and horses are most common; cats show up once in a while.

Doval has adjusted a zebra, a show steer, a lemur, a ferret.

She's even treated a duck.

"It was attacked by a dog, and its hip was a little out of alignment," Doval said. "I adjusted the hip, and it was fine. Waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle."

Wiener dog makes her a believer

When she was a kid, Doval wanted to be a heart surgeon. By the late '80s, she'd earned a master's in cardiac rehab and was working on a Ph.D. when she met a chiropractic student who convinced her to give his field a try.

She soon changed her mind when she learned about the rigorous study chiropractic work required.

"I thought, 'OK, this is for real,' " she said, and enrolled in Texas Chiropractic College.

In school, Doval read about chiropractic treatment for animals and tried some of the techniques on her Yorkshire terriers. She'd come to school telling stories about how the pups reacted to her adjustments.

"I was doing it for my own dogs," she said, adding that she wasn't thinking about doing it for anyone else's pet.

When Doval graduated in 1992, she went to work for a chiropractic clinic. That's where she got a call from the owner of a dachshund named Penny. The chiropractic college had recommended Doval, telling the pet owner she might be able to help the dog's disc problems.

But the woman, desperate to keep her dog from surgery, wouldn't take no for an answer. The pup's vet told Doval she might as well give it a try.

"So I took my knowledge about low backs and I applied it to the dog," Doval said. She tried hot packs, massage, traction and adjustments. A week and a half later, Penny was fine. No surgery needed. And that's when Doval became a true believer in chiropractic treatment for animals. She eventually became certified in animal chiropractic by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association.

Four-legged clientele

Doval has a standing appointment with about six of the 32 horses that serve in the city's Mounted Patrol program. When this started more than 10 years ago, not everybody in the police department was thrilled by the idea, said Sgt. Leslie Wills, who's in charge of training and horse care.

But attitudes changed, Wills said, "once she did come in and make some adjustments for the horses. People were able to see the relief that they got and that they were basically put back into service."

Consider Grand Slam, a mounted patrol horse who, despite regular injections, had persistent joint problems that took him out of service.

"He was pretty much about ready to retire at a young age," Wills said. "Dr. Doval came in and did some adjustments, and we were able to put him back out on the streets."

Doval is clear: She's not a veterinarian. Texas law requires patients to have a referral from a vet before their owners can make an appointment with her.

She accepts patients at her Montrose-area practice. She also makes house calls when the animal can't come in easily. Doval recently drove to Navasota and College Station to treat several dogs and a handful of horses.

Sadie, a 14-year-old Labrador retriever, limped into the backyard where Doval was treating four-legged patients.

"She's dragging her back leg a little bit," Deborah Rogers said, leading Sadie over to a blanket in the grass. "The left one."

Doval took Sadie's head in her arms. She adjusted her neck, then moved down to the dog's spine. She checked the dog's toes and hip. She picked up a leg, pulling it away from Sadie's body just a bit. Sadie whimpered quietly, but her tail kept wagging.

"She didn't yelp this time," Doval said.

She and Rogers helped Sadie lie down on one side, then the other. Doval felt for Sadie's sternum, ribs, shoulders.

"Aw, Miss Sadie, you're such a good girl," she said, helping the dog to her feet. Sadie ambled away, moving a little more easily.

Rogers has been scheduling regular appointments for the dog since June.

"She's been arthritic all her life," Rogers said, "and at this age, she really wasn't getting around very good. She was pretty immobile."

The difference she sees now is huge, Rogers said.

"For an old gal, she's doing really good," she said. "She has her quality of life back. She wants to get out and about. She even has a little bit of playfulness about her."

Later the same day, Doval visited the Navasota-area property of Hilary Luetchford, who, with her husband, has 25 horses. The newest is Betsy, a quarter horse that was malnourished and mistreated when she rescued it before Christmas. Luetchford quickly scheduled a chiropractic appointment for Betsy.

"I want her a little more comfortable," Luetchford said. "I'd like to see her moving a bit freer, but I'm not expecting miracles."

Sure enough, Betsy had problems. Her head was out of alignment. Her pelvis was stuck, which gave her a strange gait. Her sternum was out of place, her spine curved in two places, her ribs were tender and out of alignment. Her jaw was sore and her right shoulder needed adjustment.

Doval stood on a plastic bucket to reach the horse's back.

"You're doing good," she murmured as she prodded at Betsy's back, popping vertebrae back into position. "You're fine."

With a few tries, she was able to lift Betsy's left leg. The horse didn't struggle or try to get away, even when a quick tug caused a loud pop.

"Did you hear that?" Doval said. "That was her hip."

By the end of the session, Betsy was moving more easily and holding her head a little higher. The horse will need more treatment - and some trips to the vet as well - but for now, she's more comfortable. For Doval, that's the point.

"Ideally, if the spine is in alignment, everything should flow from the brain to the rest of the body, uninterrupted," Doval said. "That's where I come in."

And in her work, it doesn't matter whether the spine is attached to two legs or four.